External defibrillator with power and battery sharing capabilities with a pod

ABSTRACT

A modular external defibrillator system in embodiments of the teachings may include one or more of the following features: (a) a base containing a defibrillator module to deliver a defibrillation shock to a patient, (b) a patient parameter monitoring pod connectable to a patient via patient lead cables to collect patient data, the patient data including at least one patient vital sign, (c) a power supply sharing link between the base and the pod, the pod receiving power from the base via the power sharing link, the pod being operable to collect patient data without receiving power from the base, and (d) an external battery charger, the battery charger interrogating the batteries to determine battery information used for battery charging, the battery information including at least one of charging voltage, charging current, and charge time.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.No. 14/310,841, filed Jun. 20, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/583,175, filed on Nov. 1, 2007, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,788,038, which is a National Stage Entry of International PCTApplication No. US2004/042376 titled “AN EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR WITHPOWER AND BATTERY SHARING CAPABILITIES WITH A POD,” filed on Dec. 17,2004, which claims priority to International PCT Application No.US2004/012421 titled “DEFIBRILLATOR/MONITOR SYSTEM HAVING A POD WITHLEADS CAPABLE OF WIRELESSLY COMMUNICATING,” filed on Apr. 22, 2004,which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/464,860titled “SYSTEM OF POD WITH LEADS AND DEFIBRILLATOR MONITOR COMMUNICATINGWIRELESSLY WITH EACH OTHER,” filed Apr. 22, 2003, and to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/530,151 titled“DEFIBRILLATOR/MONITOR SYSTEM HAVING A POD WITH LEADS CAPABLE OFWIRELESSLY COMMUNICATING,” filed on Dec. 17, 2003, which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

This disclosure is related to the following co-pending applicationentitled “DEFIBRILLATOR PATIENT MONITORING POD,” U.S. Publication No.2008/0221397, filed 17 Dec. 2004, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,957,798 entitled“DEFIBRILLATOR/MONITOR SYSTEM HAVING A POD WITH LEADS CAPABLE OFWIRELESSLY COMMUNICATING,” filed 17 Dec. 2004 and issued 6 Jun. 2011,which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and notadmitted as prior art with respect to the present disclosure by itsmention in this section.

BACKGROUND

Each day thousands of Americans are victims of cardiac emergencies.Cardiac emergencies typically strike without warning, oftentimesstriking people with no history of heart disease. The most commoncardiac emergency is sudden cardiac arrest (“SCA”). It is estimated morethan 1000 people per day are victims of SCA in the United States alone.

SCA occurs when the heart stops pumping blood. Usually SCA is due toabnormal electrical activity in the heart, resulting in an abnormalrhythm (arrhythmia). One such abnormal rhythm, ventricular fibrillation(VF), is caused by abnormal and very fast electrical activity in theheart. During VF the heart cannot pump blood effectively. Because bloodmay no longer be pumping effectively during VF, the chances of survivingdecreases with time after the onset of the emergency. Brain damage canoccur after the brain is deprived of oxygen for four to six minutes.

Applying an electric shock to the patient's heart through the use of adefibrillator treats VF. The shock clears the heart of the abnormalelectrical activity (in a process called “defibrillation”) bydepolarizing a critical mass of myocardial cells to allow spontaneousorganized myocardial depolarization to resume.

Cardiac arrest is a life-threatening medical condition that may betreated with external defibrillation. External defibrillation includesapplying electrodes to the patient's chest and delivering an electricshock to the patient to depolarize the patient's heart and restorenormal sinus rhythm. The chance a patient's heart can be successfullydefibrillated increases significantly if a defibrillation pulse isapplied quickly.

In a scenario where a paramedic is responding to an emergency call witha non-specific patient condition, for example, there has been a caraccident. The paramedic will typically carry his or her owndefibrillator/monitor, a gurney, and drug box, and other supplies. If,perhaps, the car has driven off an embankment, the paramedic will have along distance to run with all this equipment. This slows the responsetime to a call where someone may be bleeding to death. Smaller lighterequipment is always demanded by paramedics to save them time and effort,and allow them to get to the scene earlier. For just this reason, someparamedics will opt to carry only an AED (Automatic ExternalDefibrillator) to the scene, and move the patient into the ambulance asquickly as possible, where other, more advanced monitoring equipment isavailable. In some countries, this approach has been incorporated intostandard operating protocols, where the ambulance carries both ALS(advanced life support) equipment (which typically would include amulti-parameter monitor and defibrillator) and an AED This approach,while effectively giving the user the choice of equipment to carry,forces the paramedic to learn two different defibrillators. The approachalso forces the paramedics to possibly transfer the patient from onemachine to the other once in the ambulance. It also adds costs to theambulance service and potentially causes lost data between the twodefibrillators for critical minutes, which may negatively impact theability of EP Lab (Electro-Physiology Lab) doctors to determine theoriginal cardiac condition.

Previous attempts to address the issue of product weight have done so bycreating a manual defibrillator that separates from a patient monitor,or an AED, which separates from a single-channel patient monitor, or amanual defibrillator/pacemaker that separates from a 12-lead ECGmonitor. These products suffer from limitations by the presentstandards, such as: limited capture of patient data, limited ability tomonitor all necessary patient vital signs, and possible unreliabilitydue to the nature of the electrical contacts between the two devices(e.g., dirt, mud; and damage to the case which could affect alignment ofelectrical contacts, thus preventing full. functionality of the (deviceswhen mated).

Another problem arises when hospital personnel want to charge thebatteries of the defibrillator/monitor, but don't want to have to placethe unit in a docking station in order to charge the batteries. Therealso arises the issue of patient confidentiality, such as recentlyraised by the Federal HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act) regulations, when identical looking patient monitorsare accidentally swapped by users.

SUMMARY

A modular external defibrillator system in embodiments of the teachingsmay include one or more of the following features: (a) a base containinga defibrillator module to deliver a defibrillation shock to a patient,(b) a patient parameter monitoring pod connectable to a patient viapatient lead cables to collect patient data, the patient data includingat least one patient vital sign, (c) a power supply sharing link betweenthe base and the pod, the pod receiving power from the base via thepower sharing link, the pod being operable to collect patient datawithout receiving power from the base, and (d) an external batterycharger, the battery charger interrogating the batteries to determinebattery information used for battery charging, the battery informationincluding at least one of charging voltage, charging current, and chargetime.

A modular external defibrillator system in embodiments of the teachingsmay include one or more of the following features: (a) a base containinga defibrillator module to deliver a defibrillation shock to a patient,(b) a patient parameter monitoring pod connectable to a patient viapatient lead cables to collect patient data, the patient data includingat least one patient vital sign, and (c) a power communications linkbetween the base and the pod, the pod receiving power-on commandsignaling from the base via the power communications link, the pod beingoperable to power-on to a condition where the pod may collect patientdata after receiving the power-on command signaling, the pod beingoperable to power-on without receiving the power-on command signaling.

A modular external defibrillator system in embodiments of the teachingsmay include one or more of the following features: (a) a base containinga defibrillator module to deliver a defibrillation shock to a patient,(b) a patient parameter monitoring pod connectable to a patient viapatient lead cables to collect patient data, the patient data includingat least one patient vital sign, the pod containing a battery operableto supply power for pod operation, (c) a battery power communicationslink between the base and the pod, the battery power communications linktransferring pod battery information, the battery information includingat least one of battery usage; battery charge status, battery charginginformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of an external defibrillator havinga patient module with a defibrillator/monitor in an embodiment of thepresent teachings;

FIG. 2 is an upper level pictorial representation of a patient modulepod in an embodiment of the present teachings;

FIG. 3 is an upper level pictorial representation of adefibrillator/monitor base in an embodiment of the present teachings;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a patient module pod in an embodiment ofthe present teachings;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a defibrillator/monitor base in anembodiment of the present teachings;

FIG. 6 is a pictorial display of a patient module pod and adefibrillator/monitor base in a power sharing embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7B are a schematic view of a defibrillator/monitor baseproviding battery charging control of a patient module pod in anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8A-8B are a schematic view of a defibrillator/monitor base batterycharging scheme in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a mating assembly having atethered connector in an embodiment of the present teachings;

FIG. 10 is a pictorial representation of a mating assembly having atethered connector in an embodiment of the present teachings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, a pictorial representation of an externaldefibrillator having a patient module with a defibrillator/monitor in anembodiment of the present teachings is shown. External defibrillator 10is comprised of two components patient module (pod) 12 anddefibrillator/monitor (base) 14, which communicate patient data (e.g.,vital signs) and share common replaceable battery technology. Pod 12generally rests within base 14, generally in the back of base 14. Theoperator, during an emergency, has the option of carrying base 14 withpod 12 attached or simply carrying pod 12 to the emergency site. Sincepod 12 is smaller and lighter than base 14, generally it will be easierfor the operator to simply carry pod 12. By carrying pod 12, theoperator is free to carry more ALS equipment and not be slowed by theheavier and more awkward base 14.

Pod 12 connects to a patient via several leads 6, 8, 9, 11, and 19 inorder to measure the patient's vital signs. Pod 12 communicates thepatient's vital signs either wirelessly or via an electrical connectionto defibrillator monitor 14. The patient data or vital signs collectedmay include 3, 4, and 5 lead ECG readings, 12 lead ECG readings,non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP), pulse oximeter data, capnographydata, invasive blood pressure, body temperature, CO2 levels, andadditional patient monitoring functions. Additionally, pod 12 mayinclude a small display 82 (shown in FIG. 4) replicating some or all ofthe information such as waveforms, numerical data, and vital signs beingtransmitted to base 14.

Base 14 includes a therapy module 56 (FIG. 3) and therapy cables.Therapy module 56 has the capability to provide therapeutic functionssuch as pacing, defibrillation, or synchronous cardioversion withoutattaching another monitor/defibrillator to the patient. The therapycables typically include patient paddles or electrodes that attachbetween the patient and base 14 in order to deliver the therapy to thepatient. Since pod 12 connects to the patient and transmits vital signsto base 14, then base 14 need not also have patient monitoring cables.Accordingly, paramedic mobility and ease of use are greatly increased.Therapy module 56 in base 14 may be configurable in either an ALS modeor an AED mode. The ALS mode includes a multi-parameter monitoringcapability and all of the defibrillator therapy delivery capability.Additionally base unit 14 may be just an AED.

With reference to FIG. 2, an upper level pictorial representation of apatient module in an embodiment of the present teachings is shown.Generally, pod 12 uses replaceable or rechargeable batteries 16 forpower and comprises any combination of the following features: 3, 4, and5 lead ECG inputs 18, 12 lead ECG inputs 20, non-invasive blood pressure(NIBP) input 22, pulse oximeter input 24, capnography input (not shown),invasive blood pressure input 26, temperature input 28, CO2 input 30,additional patient monitoring functions, transceiver 32 to transmit anyor all real time patient data to base 14. Transceiver 32 can be awireless BlueTooth module commercially available from TDK, however,transceiver 32 can be any transceiver such as WiFi (802.11), WirelessWAN (CDMA, GSM, GPRS, UTMS, etc.), or a wired Fire-Wire (IEEE 1394)without departing from the present disclosure. Additionally, pod 12 mayinclude a patient parameter display 33 replicating some or all of theinformation such as waveforms, numerical data, and vital signs beingtransmitted to base 14. Additionally, pod 12 includes some means bywhich it can be attached to base 14 for the purpose of carrying base 14to an emergency scene as is discussed in PCT Application Serial No.US04/12421. Additionally, pod 12 may have a feature allowing it to beeasily secured to a gurney or hospital bed as is discussed in a patentapplication entitled “DEFIBRILLATOR PATIENT MONITORING POD,” U.S.Publication No. 2008/0221397, filed Dec. 17, 2004, herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

With reference to FIG. 3, an upper level pictorial representation of adefibrillator/monitor in an embodiment of the present teachings isshown. Base 14 uses a replaceable or rechargeable battery 50 for power.Batteries 16 and 50 are generally similar in battery chemistry,electrical, and mechanical features to permit the interchangeabilitybetween batteries 16 and 50. Batteries 16 and 50 can be a Li Ion batteryproviding 16 volts and 3.8 amps, however, most any type of battery canbe used without departing from the disclosure. Additionally, base 14comprises a display 52 sufficient to show current and historical patientdata, a transceiver (similar to transceiver 32 [not shown]) to sendacquired patient data onto a receiving station or third party datareceiver, a module 56 to synchronize shocks and pacing pulses to thepatient's intrinsic rhythm from data acquired by a pod 12, an errorchecking and de-multiplexing module 54 receiving and processing datareceived from pod 12, and a data interpretation module 58 which analyzesdata acquired by pod 12 and makes certain interpretive statements on thepatient's cardiac or respiratory condition, displays vital sign trends,and provides additional functions found in ALS monitoring products.

With reference to FIG. 4, a schematic view of a patient monitor in anembodiment of the present teachings is shown. As discussed above, pod 12can be powered from a removable/rechargeable battery 60. Power module 62processes the incoming power into appropriate power levels for each ofthe internal components. Power module 62 routes the pod's power supplythrough main power and data bus 64 to system controller module 66,patient parameter module 68, and operator interface module 70. Asdiscussed above, pod 12 can be used wirelessly, however, it is helpfulif pod 12 is directly connected through a tethered cable 46 or throughattachment to a connector to utilize the speed of data bus 64.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a pictorial representation of a matingassembly having a tethered connector in an embodiment of the presentteachings is shown. In this embodiment, a pod similar to 12 rests withinslot 40 and connects to base-to-pod connector 42, which allows base 14and a pod to communicate with each other. Base-to-pod connector 42 restsfreely within connector cavity 44, which allows connector cable 46 toretractably exit and enter base 14. Tethered cable 46 allows a pod tomate with and rest within base 14 or mate with base 14 when not dockedwithin slot 40. It is sometimes helpful that base 14 communicate with apod through tethered cable 46 since communications through a directconnection is generally faster. This is the case in the presentembodiment as base 14 is equipped with a high-speed bus, such as a USBbus, which provides quick communication of information between a pod andbase 14. Base 14 is also able to automatically detect when tetheredcable 46 is plugged in so direct communications can be establishedimmediately. A direct communication between a pod and base 14 can beestablished. This automatic establishment of direct communicationbetween a pod and base 14 includes when a pod is docked within base 14and a connection is made between a pod and base 14 through connector 42.

Generally base 14 and a pod communicate wirelessly to assist inpreventing the tangling of cables, which can occur between a patient andbase 14, particularly when transporting patients. Tethered cable 46provides a system for use when the wireless link between pod 12 and base14 fails for whatever reason or when precise signal synchronizationdemands a wired connection. Tethered cable 46 also provides the addedadvantage in that the user cannot lose cable 46 because it is tetheredto base 14. Wireless links can impose a delay in communication between apod and base 14 longer than may be experienced with a cable. Whencommunications between base 14 and a pod require a faster response time(such as application of synchronous cardioversion or pacing whereinformation from a pod must be transmitted to base 14), the user isadvised of the need to plug cable 46 into the pod or attached pod 12 tobase 14. The user is provided a user interface message to inform them ofthe need to attach cable 46.

With reference again to FIG. 4, system controller module 66 controlsinteraction of all the pod's modules through data bus 64 and interactionwith base 14 through a wired connection, such as tethered cable 46 orwireless (e.g., IrDA, RF, etc.) communication link 72 which would betransmitted by transceiver 32. System controller module 66 has theability to encrypt data communicated over the wireless links to meetHIPAA requirements for the protection of patient data. There can be asingle encryption key for all bases and pods. However, it iscontemplated there could be a user defined encryption key that can beset at the base by an operator. Patient parameter module 68 monitorsfunctions such as invasive blood pressure, patient's temperature, andinputs from the pod leads. Module 68 further collects inputs from EtC02module 74, NIBP module 76, and Sp02 module 78 through OEM module 80.Patient parameter module 68 takes all of these inputs and processes themfor display and can route only a limited number of inputs to small LCDdisplay module 82 through operator interface module 70. PatientParameter Module 68 also has the ability to perform interpretation ofclinical data and can make certain interpretive statements about thepatient's condition (e.g., cardiac or respiratory health). Power module62 provides on/off control to the pod, utilizing the removable battery60 as the power source. Operator Interface module 70 allows the operatorto primarily interact with pod 12; however, it is contemplated thatoperator could use the module 70 to interact with base 14 as well.

With reference to FIG. 5, a schematic view of a defibrillator/monitor inan embodiment of the present teachings is shown. Base 14 is powered by aremovable/rechargeable battery 84, which provides power to power module86. Alternatively, base 14 could be powered by AC power supply 88 or DCpower supply 93. Power module 86 processes the incoming power intoappropriate powered levels for each of the internal components.

Power module 86 also routes the base's power supply through main powerand data bus 90 to interconnect module 92, system controller module 94,therapy module 96, and operator interface module 98. Interconnect module92 is utilized to detect how pod 12 is connected to base 14 (wirelessly,docked, or tethered cable). When pod 12 is docked or tethered to base14, interconnect module 92 can route the power provided from powermodule 86 to the pod 12. Additionally interconnect module 92, inconjunction with system controller 94, store all of the informationabout the associations that have been established between the base 12and pod 14. Similar to system controller module 66 (in FIG. 4), systemcontroller module 94 controls all interaction of all of the base'smodules through data bus 90 and interaction with pod 12 through wired orwireless connection communication link 72 or through data bus 90 if pod12 is connected to base 14. System controller module 94 and interconnectmodule 92 have the ability to encrypt data communicated over thewireless links to meet HIP AA requirements for the protection of patientdata. Therapy module 96 synchronizes shocks and pacing pulses to thepatient's intrinsic rhythm from data acquired from pod 12. Module 96administers shocks from voltages via the defibrillation cap 100 and, intum, administers pacing pulses to a patient. Operator interface module98 allows the operator to primarily interact with base 14; however, itis contemplated that the operator could use the module 98 to interactwith pod 12 as well. For example, patient demographic data (e.g., age,sex, height, weight) could be entered at the base 14, and communicatedto the pod 12 for use in interpretive algorithms performed in systemcontroller 66 within pod 12. LCD module 102 allows the operator to viewa patient's monitored parameters. Finally, the operator has the optionto print out patient information on a printer 104 (e.g., a 100 mm stripchart printer).

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7A-7B, a display of a patient module and adefibrillator/monitor in a power-sharing embodiment of the presentdisclosure is shown. In the present embodiment, and as stated above,both pod 212 and base 210 have separate but interchangeable batteries(not shown). In a preferred embodiment base 210 has 2 batteries each ofwhich is interchangeable with the pod's battery. Generally, the extrabattery is needed to provide the necessary energy for defibrillationtherapy as well as providing energy to pod 212 when necessary as will bediscussed in more detail below. Generally, upon power up both base 210and pod 212 power up on their respective batteries. Moreover, pod 212will remain on its own battery power in order to conserve the base'sbattery so base 210 will be able to provide defibrillation therapy to apatient when it is needed. In this situation the pod does not draw anypower from power bus 245. As discussed above, base 210 will quicklyestablish communications with pod 212 to determine if pod 212 is dockedin station 216, tethered by cable 214, or is remote using wirelesscommunications as is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,957,798 entitled“DEFIBRILLATOR/MONITOR SYSTEM HAVING A POD WITH LEADS CAP ABLE OFWIRELESSLY COMMUNICATING” filed Dec. 17, 2004 and issued Jun. 6, 2011herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. If pod 212 is dockedor tethered, base 210 may communicate to pod 212 whether base 210 isconnected to an external power source 218, detectable by the presence ofpower on power bus 287 (FIGS. 8A-8B). External power source 218 could bean AC or DC power source or even an AC or DC power supply. If base 210is connected to external power source 218, the base would communicate topod 212 to quit using its own battery and instead receive external powerthrough base 210 by way of power bus 245. If base 210 is not connectedto external power source 218, then pod 212 will remain using the energyof its own battery until it reaches a “low power” state. Upon reachingthe lower power state, pod 212 will request a power transfer from base210 through cable 214. Upon the request, base 210 will transfer powerthrough cable 214 unless base 210 has reached a low power state. If base210 has reached a low power state, then base 210 will initiate an alarminforming the user that base 210 must be connected to external powersource 218 or base 210 and pod 212 batteries must be replaced. It iscontemplated there could be more than one tethered cable, such as onecable providing patient and/or pod data and another cable providingpower without departing from the disclosure. It is further contemplatedthe low power state for the base would be a power state above which adefibrillation therapy could successfully be provided to a patient. Itis further contemplated that while the base and pod were both operatingon battery power, if the base were to encounter a low power state on itsbatteries while the pod had not encountered a low power state on itsbattery that power could be shared from the pod battery to the basethrough power bus 245. It is further contemplated that the pod could bepowered solely from the base through the availability of power on powerbus 245 without pod battery 226 being present within the pod. It isfurther contemplated if the pod is remote from the base andcommunicating wirelessly and experienced a low power state, the podwould then sound an alarm and/or illuminate a visible indicator (e.g.,LED or message on a display located on the pod) to the user informingthe user the pod must be connected via the tethered cable or the podmust be docked so it can power share with the base. In an alternateembodiment, the low power state would be communicated wirelessly to thebase whereby the base would sound an alarm and/or illuminate a visibleindicator to the user informing the user the pod must be connected viathe tethered cable or the pod must be docked so it can power share withthe base. It is further contemplated that if the pod battery is easilyreplaced by the user, the low power state indication would prompt theuser to replace the pod battery with a more full charged battery.

Generally, battery-charging control is maintained by a power module (notshown in FIG. 6) located in base 210. The power module is able todetermine when a battery needs charging, how long the charging willtake, and how much energy it will take to charge the battery. In thecase of a regular “dumb” battery, the determination for these items canbe made through examination of battery characteristics such as batteryvoltage, change in voltage, change m charge current drawn by thebattery, and change in battery temperature. In an embodiment, thebatteries in pod 212 and base 210 are “smart” batteries. The powermodule is able to communicate with smart batteries 222,224, and 226through communication multiplexer 240 and communication buses 230,231,and 233 and provide the module with several variables providing thebattery's status, such as energy level, whether the battery is in usepresently, the battery's use over a time period, etc. It is of note pod212 does not necessarily have to have a power module comparable to thepower module in base 210. Instead of duplicating the circuitry of thepower module in base 210, pod 212 contains power-multiplexing circuitry,which allows pod 212 to interrogate its smart battery and relay thisinformation to the power module or it allows the pod's smart battery todirectly communicate with the power module. The power module would thendirectly interrogate the pod's smart battery and retrieve the necessaryinformation for charging. Further, the power module is isolated from therest of the base circuitry so it can charge the batteries even when base210 is turned off. This reduces the amount of circuitry needing powerduring the charging process, thus conserving energy and increasingcircuit reliability for the circuitry that is not powered on during thecharging process.

With reference again to FIGS. 7A-7B, a schematic view of adefibrillator/monitor providing battery charging control of a patientmodule in an embodiment of the present 10 disclosure is shown. Whendocked or connected by a tethered cable, base 220 establishes severalconnections to pod 228 through communication bus 230, battery chargingbus 246, and power bus 245. Power bus 245 provides power to pod 228through base 220 when base 220 is connected to an external power sourceor when pod 228 is in a “low power” state. In the present embodiment,base 220 is able to control the charging of batteries 222,224, and 226located within pod 228. As discussed above, communication bus 230 andcharging bus 246 allow base 220 to charge batteries 222, 224, and 226and thus allows for only one power module 232 (similar to power module86), which remains in base 220, thus reducing the amount of circuitryneeded. If base 220 is connected to an external power source, power istransferred to base 220 through battery lines 234 and 236 via anexternal or internal power supply. Power microprocessor 238 iscontinually interrogating batteries 222, 224, and 226 throughcommunication multiplexer 240, to obtain battery information such asvoltage and current parameters, battery's charge level, and a batteryserial number. Microprocessor 238 then determines, which two of threebatteries 222, 224, and 226 requiring charging based upon theinterrogated battery information. Since base 220 has two independentpower lines 234 and 236, base 220 is able to charge two of the threebatteries 222, 224, and 226 simultaneously. For example, module 232could charge batteries 222 and 224, or 222 and 226, or 224 and 226 atthe same time. Generally, batteries 222 and 224 are charged first sobase 220 is quickly provided with the energy to provide defibrillationtherapy. It is further contemplated any one of batteries 222, 224, and226 could be charged by themselves. It is further contemplated all threebatteries 222, 224, and 226 could be charged together without departingfrom the disclosure.

Once processor 238 determines which two batteries need charging, poweris routed through a switching matrix comprised of switches 242 and 244to batteries 222 or 224 or through battery charger bus 246 to battery226. Processor 238 controls which batteries will be charged throughpower multiplexer 239, which controls the switching matrix. Once abattery is fully charged, processor 238 then routes the power to thethird and remaining battery in need of charging. When batteries 222,224,and 226 are all fully charged, switches 242 and 244 are opened and theincoming power continues to power base 220 and pod 228 through power bus245. It is further contemplated that switches 242 and 244 would not beneeded if the battery charging power provided through battery chargerbuses 234 and 236 were to be placed in an “off power” state that wouldnot significantly load the batteries 242 and 244 when charging power isnot needed.

When pod 228 is being used in a wireless mode, communication bus 248 isengaged by power processor 249 to route battery 226 information viasignal processor 250. Once the power processor 249 routes theinformation to signal processor 250, the signal processor 250 processesthe battery information and transmits all battery 226 information tobase 220. It is fully contemplated processors 238 and 249 could be anytype of processor including a microcontroller or an ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit) without departing from the disclosure.Further, signal processor 250 can be any type of signal processor knownto those with skill in the art. Base 220 uses the battery information tomonitor the charge on battery 226 and displays this information on amonitor (not shown) as a fuel gauge, which is discussed in more detailbelow, so the user can easily monitor the status of the pod's battery226. Base 220 also uses this information to initiate an alarm on base220 and/or pod 228 to alert the user the pod's battery 226 is depletedand pod 228 needs to be connected via a cable to base 220 or pod 228needs to be docked with base 220 so battery 226 can be charged.Generally, pod 228 is turned off when it is charging. However buses 246and 230 remain open so pod 228 battery 226 can be recharged and beinterrogated by base 220 to monitor the charging process. It is furthercontemplated that pod battery charging can occur when the pod isoperating and is powered by the base power through power bus 245.

With reference once again to FIGS. 7A-7B, in an another embodiment thereis a power on and power off interaction between base 220 and pod 228. Ifbase 220 and pod 228 are in electrical contact either through a tetheredcable or through pod 228 being docked with base 220, a user could pressan on/off button (not shown) on base 220 powering up base 220 and asignal would be sent from system control module 300 on system bus 302 topod 228 instructing pod 228 to power up. If the user then desired topower down base 220, they would then press the on/off button on base 220powering down base 220 and a signal would be sent from system controlmodule 300 on system bus 302 to pod 228 instructing pod 228 to powerdown. In an alternative embodiment. pod 228 would be able to detect base220 had powered up by power being transferred across bus 245 and thenpod 228 would power up itself. Upon power up of base 220, system controlmodule 300 establishes the initial condition of base 220 and pod 228 andcoordinates communication of all modules. The control module 300 thenconfirms with processor 250 through control bus 302 the pod's powersituation (e.g., pod 228 is running off battery 226 or is receivingpower from base 220 through power bus 245) and the pod's current powermanagement.

Similar to base 220, pod 228 has an on/off button 225 where a user canpress the button and tum pod 228 on or off. If pod 228 is docked withbase 220 and pod 228 is powered up, pod 228 will begin to interrogatecommunications with base 220. If, after a period of minutes, pod 228cannot establish communications with base 220, then pod 228 would assumepowering up was inadvertent and tum itself off to conserve batterypower. In another embodiment, the user would be able to power up base220 from pod 228 similar to powering up pod 228 from base 220 discussedabove. Pod 228 can also be powered up from base 220 in a wireless mode.If pod 228 is remote from base 220 and a user powers up base 220, base220 will determine pod 228 is not directly connected to base 220 andthen transmit an RF signature which when received by pod 228 would powerup pod 228. In addition, pod 228 could be powered down from base 220 aslong as pod 228 is within transmitting range of base 220. Ifcommunications between pod 228 and base 220 is lost, pod 228 will try toreestablish communications for a pre-determined amount of time. If pod228 is unable to reestablish communications with base 220, then pod 228will power itself down to conserve battery power. However, if pod 228came back within communication range of base 220, then the RF signaturefrom base 220 would power up pod 228 and base 220 would beginreestablishing communications. It is further contemplated that the podand base could swap roles in the previously described wireless on/offdescriptions without departing from the disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 8A-8B, a schematic view of adefibrillator/monitor battery-charging scheme in an embodiment of thepresent disclosure is shown. External adapter 262 providesbattery-charging circuitry for charging batteries 264 and 266 locatedwithin base 260. External adapter 262 can be a docking station or anadaptor. In this embodiment, the battery charging circuitry has beenremoved from base 260 to reduce the cost of base 262 and to make base262 lighter. External adapter 262 can receive power input from an ACsource 268 or a DC source 270 or both; however, both are not necessarilyneeded together to stay within the disclosure. If AC source 268 isutilized, the power is first filtered through AC filter 272 and thenconverted to 10-16V DC by converter 274. This voltage can then be routedto power module 276 where it is used to power base 260 and routed toboost converter 280, which converts the power to 20V which is providedto battery charging circuits 282 and 284. If DC source 270 is utilized,the power is filtered by DC filter 278 and routed to power module 276where it is used to power base 260 and boost converter 280 whichconverts the power to 20V which is provided to battery charging circuits282 and 284.

Communications bus 285 provides communication with power processor 286,a pod battery (not shown) through multiplexer 288. Bus 285 furtherprovides communication with power processor 286 and battery chargers 282and 284 through bus multiplexer 290. Generally, bus 285 is an Inter-ICbus, however, it is fully contemplated bus 285 could be any type of busknow to those with skill in the art without departing from thedisclosure. Through communication bus 285 power processor 286 provideschargers 282 and 284 with the proper charging parameters, such as propervoltage, current, and charge time, based upon information interrogatedfrom batteries 264 and 266. Battery chargers 282 and 284 then use thischarging parameter information to provide the correct charging voltageand current to power module 276, which then routes this power tobatteries 264 and 266 through battery circuit boards 292 and 294.Therefore bus 285 allows processor 286 to parametrically control thecharging of batteries 282 and 284. This allows for the use of varyingtypes of batteries as well as algorithms, which might change over timedue to technology changes. It is further contemplated that thedistribution of battery charging, power control, and power switchingfunctions could be redistributed among the docking station, base, andpod without departing from the disclosure. It is further contemplatedthat the power and battery charging buses could be combined into asingle bus without departing from the disclosure. It is furthercontemplated that the power on/off control signal 302 between the base220 and pod 228 and communication bus 230 can be combined into a singlebus without departing from the disclosure. It is further contemplatedthat the power and communication buses could be combined into a singlebus without departing from the disclosure. In an alternate embodiment,the smart battery information could be communicated from the pod battery226 to the pod power controller 249 and then communicated to the basepower processor 238 via the communication bus 230.

The above discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the artto make and use the present disclosure. Various modifications to theillustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and the generic principles herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limitedto embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the principles and features disclosed herein. The above detaileddescription is to be read with reference to the figures, in which likeelements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures,which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present teachings. Skilledartisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many usefulalternatives and fall within the scope of the present teachings.

Thus, embodiments of the AN EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR WITH POWER ANDBATTERY SHARING CAPABILITIES WITH A POD are disclosed. One skilled inthe art will appreciate that the present disclosure can be practicedwith embodiments other than those disclosed. The disclosed embodimentsare presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation, and thepresent teachings are limited only by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A defibrillator monitoring system, comprising: apatient parameter monitoring pod having a pod battery, the patientparameter monitoring pod configured to receive patient data thatincludes at least one patient vital sign; a portable base having a basebattery and a power module that is configured to determine a pod batterycharge condition and a base battery charge condition; and a power supplysharing link electrically coupled between the portable base and thepatient parameter monitoring pod, the power supply sharing linkconfigured to selectively share power between the pod battery and thebase battery via the power supply sharing link based at least in part onthe patient parameter monitoring pod battery charge condition and thebase battery charge condition.
 2. The monitoring system of claim 1,wherein the portable base is configured to share power with the podbattery in response to the power module determining the base battery isin a low power state.
 3. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein thepatient parameter monitoring pod is configured to share power with thebase battery in response to the power module determining the pod batteryis in a low power state.
 4. The monitoring system of claim 1, in whichthe portable base further includes a defibrillator module configured toprovide at least one of pacing, defibrillation, and cardioversion and ispowered, at least in part, by the base battery.
 5. The monitoring systemof claim 1, wherein the patient monitoring pod is structured to operatewhen detached from the portable base and when mounted on the portablebase.
 6. The monitoring system of claim 5, wherein the patientmonitoring pod communicates wirelessly with the portable base whendetached from the portable base.
 7. The monitoring system of claim 1,wherein one or both of the portable base and the patient parametermonitoring pod includes a display.
 8. The system of claim 1, in whichthe patient data includes an end tidal CO2 (EtC02) level of a patient.9. The system of claim 8, in which the patient parameter monitoring podincludes an EtC02 module operable to collect an EtC02 level of apatient.
 10. The system of claim 1, in which the patient data includes anon-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) of a patient.
 11. The system of claim10, in which the patient parameter monitoring pod further comprises anNIBP module operable to collect an NIBP of the patient.
 12. The systemof claim 1, in which the patient data includes a peripheral oxygensaturation (Sp02) level of a patient.
 13. The system of claim 12, inwhich the patient parameter monitoring pod further comprises an Sp02module operable to collect the Sp02 level of the patient.
 14. The systemof claim 1, wherein the pod battery charge condition further comprises adetermination of a charge time period for the amount of time to chargethe pod battery.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the pod batterycharge condition further comprises a determination of the level ofenergy required to charge the pod battery.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the base battery charge condition further comprises adetermination of a charge time period for the amount of time to chargethe base battery.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the base batterycharge condition further comprises a determination of the level ofenergy required to charge the base battery.
 18. The system of claim 1,wherein the patient parameter monitoring pod is configured to receivethe patient data without receiving power from the portable base.
 19. Adefibrillator monitoring system, comprising: a patient parametermonitoring pod including a pod battery, the patient parameter monitoringpod configured to receive patient data that includes at least onepatient vital sign; a portable base that includes a base battery and apower module that is configured to determine a pod battery chargecondition and a base battery charge condition; and a power supplysharing link electrically coupled between the portable base and thepatient parameter monitoring pod, the power supply sharing linkconfigured to selectively charge one or the other of the pod battery andthe base battery based at least in part on the patient parametermonitoring pod battery charge condition and the base battery chargecondition.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the patient parametermonitoring pod is configured to receive the patient data withoutreceiving power from the portable base.